1911 Trigger Job

[BallisticianX]

I decided to do a trigger job on my 1911 (STI Spartan) out of necessity rather than recreation. I will explain why and how I did it so you have the full understanding of my process to help you critique and possibly answer my questions at the end.

I had a problem with hammer follow and 3 shot bursts. I returned the gun for service and though I got a properly functioning gun back, it had a much heavier spongy pull than when it was new. So being a poor man as of late I could not afford to have a trigger done by a reputable gunsmith and pay for shipping etc (there aren't any "good" ones near me). So after hours of reading up, watching videos, and saving a couple bucks I decided to tackle the endeavor myself. I have done some general "smithing" work on guns for years but do not claim to be a pro at any rate. So to the point; I purchased a Fusion brand "hi-impact" stainless commander hammer, Fusion brand match stainless sear, and Ed Brown sear jig. I also procured new stones from Fusion; medium india stone and fine ceramic stone. I lightly stoned/polished all metal to metal contact points (sear and hammer sides, sear and dis-connector matting points etc.). I stoned smooth the hammer hooks to a sharp 90 degrees and adjusted the hook height to .019". I dressed the sear primary angle using the Ed Brown jig until I had contact to the entire surface of the nose and was mirror smooth. I then cut the secondary by way of riding the stone against the back of the sear nose and using the bottom of the sear(the top of the shelf coming off of the sear hooks)as a guide. I initially cut the secondary or relief angle so it cut into a 1/3 of finished primary angle surface. To reduce creep I continued to stone a little more secondary angle a tad at a time until it was gone. The finished secondary angle is now just under half way into the primary angle surface. I adjusted the sear and dis-connector spring legs with a little more bend on the dis-connector versus the sear leg to obtain a 3.75 lb. pull. I tested the function by dry racking the slide at speed for about an hour and a few slide lock releases(I know that's not healthy but needs to be checked) with no hammer follow. I went to the range and fired 130 rounds with no problems. My question is; how many rounds should be fired to break in this new sear and hammer relationship to confirm the safety and reliability of the job? Also has anyone used the Fusion Hammer and sear? What are your opinions of there durability and quality? I am a perfectionist and will always wonder if the result of my work is the best it could be. I tend to over worry and over test my work. In this case I just want a general limit of satisfactory testing so I don't wear it out before I'm confident lol. I also hope my choice of Fusion Brand components is not going to hurt me in the long run. I heard alot of good things about them, but am unsure of there actual durability and hardness as compared to the EGW parts I could not afford right now. Any thoughts are greatly appreciated.

Edited April 8, 2011 by BallisticianX

[wide45]

You took more off the hammer hooks, and secondary angle than I would have, but It's holding so far.

One key to a clean long lasting trigger, is insuring that the sear and hammer make contact across the whole width as installed. Often the holes, and pins line up so as to favor one side.

Use a blue sharpie to color the sear tip, and hammer hooks. Install the parts in the frame, and work the trigger a few times. You will be able to see the contact pattern. Careful stoning in the jig with a little pressure on the high side will even things up.

[ParaGunner]

I would say if the hammer was going to follow it would of by now. I don't think there is a break in period for a hammer and sear,either it's right or wrong from the beginning unless the metal is bad quality.

[Joe4d]

Are the parts listed as tool steel ? Alot of your cheaper parts are only surfaced hardened, you cut through that hardening and your trigger job doesnt last so long. Going with a jig is a good move the ed brown one is pretty simple and does a good job.

[Powder Finger]

You took more off the hammer hooks, and secondary angle than I would have, but It's holding so far.

One key to a clean long lasting trigger, is insuring that the sear and hammer make contact across the whole width as installed. Often the holes, and pins line up so as to favor one side.

Use a blue sharpie to color the sear tip, and hammer hooks. Install the parts in the frame, and work the trigger a few times. You will be able to see the contact pattern. Careful stoning in the jig with a little pressure on the high side will even things up.

I agree with this.

.018 hooks are pretty short. On mine I just break the edge for a seconday angle.

But as said since it's working just shoot it. At a time when there's a few extra funds you can get some parts and experiment with.

[BallisticianX]

I cut the hammer hooks to .019". Some of the reference materials said to cut them to .020" and others said .018", so I split the difference and did .019". Now, Wide45, I checked my engagement and there was favoritism to one side of the sear. I stoned the sear to even it out and ended up with alot of creep. Not only could you feel it I also could see the hammer creeping forward during the trigger pull. It would learch a little forward and then stop just before the sear broke. So I took it apart and on a hunch I increased the angle on my jig. What I mean is; I backed out the the stop on my ed brown jig a little bit. This hinges the sear more towards it's back side. This causes the angle to be cut a little more into the front side of the sear nose. I re-stoned my secondary angle so it only cut about a third of the way into the finished primary angle surface. I checked and corrected for even sear to hammer engagement by use of a sharpie. After doing this the creep is less, not totaly gone but ok. The hammer now stays in place until it breaks, no more slight movement forward when pulling the trigger. I tested the function with alot of racking the slide at speed with no problems. When I release the slide from slide lock with a weak grip the hammer follows every now and then, if I have a firm grip it won't follow. When droping slide lock on dummy loads out of the magazine it won't follow either. I attribute this occasional hammer follow with a weak grip to inertia of the gun lunging forward and the trigger staying at rest bumping the sear. I increased the tension on the disconnector spring leg and it seemed to clear up. I will be heading to the range shortly to test it again. I will be ordering a sear from EGW soon. I will also look into a magnifier of some sort also. That will give me some piece of mind. So I will let you know how my range testing goes. I hope it goes well but my fear that I may have cut the sear down to much is looming in my head.

[Erik S.]

All a trigger job is is "simulated wear" anyway, so breaking in should be a non-issue. As far as safety, your tolerances seem ok and since you used a jig and did your homework, it sounds like you're left with a nice and SAFE trigger! Especially at 3.75lbs, you shouldn't have any issues barring the steel type that other posters mentioned.

Good luck and congrats on taking the dive! Trigger work can be intimidating....I know it is for me.

[want2race]

I like the STI sear spring better. It's the one with thinned legs.

To check if your getting inertia caused hammer follow, put side pressure on the trigger and drop the slide with your weak grip. By holding the trigger in place it takes that out of the equation.

[mike cyrwus]

I like the STI sear spring better. It's the one with thinned legs.

To check if your getting inertia caused hammer follow, put side pressure on the trigger and drop the slide with your weak grip. By holding the trigger in place it takes that out of the equation.

If you have a trigger with a hole like most, you can just fold up a piece of paper or q-tip and wedge the trigger forward against the grip. That way you can really weak-grip it.

[BallisticianX]

I like the STI sear spring better. It's the one with thinned legs.

To check if your getting inertia caused hammer follow, put side pressure on the trigger and drop the slide with your weak grip. By holding the trigger in place it takes that out of the equation.

I in fact am using a STI sear spring, of which looks identical to a colt mainspring. As far as my range testing after my re-work, it went well. I put through about 80 rounds of .45 and another 100 .22Lr with my TacSol 2211 conversion installed on my frame. Everything fired, no hammer follow, and all pulls of the trigger felt consistent. My dad put a couple rounds through it and said that one of his trigger pulls tripped easier than the others, not sure what happened. I didn't experience any light pulls myself. As a matter of fact the trigger feels exactly the same whether I just manually cock the hammer, rack the slide, or drop it from slide lock. Before I re-worked my trigger the feel and pull weight was noticeably different between all three of those conditions. I am happy, but still intend to upgrade to a EGW sear and after some use I will see just how good my work really is, as for right now I'm feeling pretty good about it. I'm very proud of this gun, I've done alot of upgrading to it and educated myself on the 1911 quite alot.

[Poppa Bear]

I do not do my own work on .45's, but one thing my gunsmith told me is that the weight of the physical trigger can have a big impact on doubling or tripling when the trigger pull is set at less than 4 lbs. If the total engagement is minimal and the trigger is heavier in terms of how many grams the trigger actually weighs its total mass can be enough to cause the gun to double if your grip is fairly weak.

He says he sees a lot of amateur jobs that require replacement of the sear, the hammer, or both because they took too much off trying to do it themselves.

He is working over a Springfield for me right now that will break cleanly at 2.5 lbs and I have no concerns about hammer and sear engagement. I do not know how he does what he does but the surfaces are so clean that the triggers do not creep, you just keep applying pressure until the trigger flat out breaks.

Edited April 9, 2011 by Poppa Bear

[BallisticianX]

My trigger work was put through it's paces Saturday. I put another 130 rounds of .22LR through the TacSol conversion at a local Steel Challenge match. It worked flawlessly and felt great. So I have to cal this trigger job a success.

A few of the other shooters wanted to give my gun a try. They all were admiring it's flashy appearance with all my added on polished stainless hardware. (People are like cats, were attracted to shiny things!)Everyone who fired it were very impressed with how it felt and shot. I also had a good day and ended up taking High Overall score of all competitors. It was a great day and I'm very proud of all the time and work I have in this pistol.

Edited April 10, 2011 by BallisticianX

[tk2]

What I do to find out if the hammer will follow or not is go run some Bill Drills at 7 yards.

I've had it happen a few times where I couldn't get the hammer to follow at the bench, even dropping the slide on an empty chamber, but it would drop running Bill Drills. Seems to me like if a hammer is going to follow, it does it while running fast splits.

Edited April 12, 2011 by tk2

[BallisticianX]

Well three years later it still runs reliable and without a single problem.